But for design snoots like me, it's hard to see past all the
plastic. Samsung phones may have those gorgeous displays — the
best in the world, according to some experts — but they're
encased in cheap-feeling, creaky plastic. If the iPhone is a
well-designed tool, then Samsung phones are plastic playthings.

Samsung's newest phone, the Galaxy Alpha, is a response to all
that design criticism. It's Samsung's first Galaxy phone to
incorporate metal — an aluminum band with chamfered edges wrapped
around the case.

Oh, and it looks eerily similar to the iPhone 5/5S.

Samsung seems to have been influenced by the iPhone
5/5S design.Business
Insider

Feature-wise, the Galaxy Alpha can do pretty much the same stuff
as the
Galaxy S5, so I'm not going to waste time going over all
that. Here's a quick recap: It has a fingerprint sensor embedded
in the home button that lets you unlock the phone without
entering a passcode, but it doesn't work as well as the iPhone's
fingerprint sensor. I often have to try multiple times to get it
to work. The Alpha also runs the same version of Android. The
screen is a bit smaller at 4.7 inches. It's also not water
resistant like the Galaxy S5 is. Still, to make it easy, just think of the
Alpha as a slightly smaller Galaxy S5.

The Alpha is all about Samsung testing its design chops. The
phone looks good, but it's disappointing to see Samsung using the
iPhone 5 design from two years ago for inspiration instead of
pushing forward on its own. HTC has been able make phones that
are just as
beautiful as anything Apple can build without copying the
iPhone style. The Alpha looks like Samsung took the iPhone 5,
made the screen slightly larger, and added a flimsy, removable
plastic back cover.

The
iPhone 5S on top of the Galaxy Alpha.Business Insider

Even
with the metal design, Samsung still used a flimsy plastic back
cover.Business
Insider

That's what makes the Galaxy Alpha such a strange device. It's
supposed to offer a "premium" feel, but the result is a curious
Frankensteinish mishmash of plastic and high quality metal. Yes,
it looks better than any other Samsung phone, but I wish Samsung
had gone all the way and made a unibody, all-metal device.

Other than that, the Alpha performs just as well as the Galaxy
S5, which is a good phone if you like Android. The screen on the
Alpha isn't as sharp as the one on its big brother, but I doubt
most people will notice. It also fits in my hand a lot easier
than the Galaxy S5, and the metal band makes it feel more solid
and sturdy. The battery can get you through a day and the camera
can hold its own against other high-end smartphones.

It's best to think of the Alpha as an experiment, an offshoot of
the Galaxy S5 that's more about design and build quality than
trying to innovate new features. Samsung will likely wait until
its next flagship Galaxy phones launches to wow us with something
really new.

Conclusion

If you like Samsung phones, I think you should buy the Galaxy S5
over the Alpha. It has a bigger, nicer screen and costs about the
same. But if you've dying for a Samsung phone with some metal on
it, choose the Alpha.